Private legal practitioner and convenor of #FixTheCountry Movement, Mr Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, filed his defence in the GH¢10 million defamation case against him, last Friday.
The Accra High Court on January 10 awarded costs of GH¢3,000 against Mr Barker-Vormarwor for failing to file his defence.
The court subsequently, granted him additional one week to file his defence, and adjourned hearing to January 24.
Mr Barker-Vormawor has accused the Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, of attempting to bribe him and others to stop their social activities.
In his defence, Mr Barker-Vormawor, a social activist, is asking the court to grant a number of his (defendant’s) counter claims.
He wanted the court to declare that Mr Dapaah, did, in his capacity as the Minister of National Security, offer to the defendant monies, plane tickets, appointment to a public office and other facilities in his bid to procure the defendant to abandon his activism with the #FixTheCountry Movement,
Mr Barker-Vormawor is also asking the court through his counsel, Dr Justice Srem Sai, for a declaration that the defendant did reject the plaintiff’s offers of money, aeroplane tickets, appointment to a public office and other facilities and, rather, insisted on continuing with his activism with the #FixTheCountry Movement.
The defendant wanted the court to declare that the plaintiff did cause, conspire to cause or was complicit in causing the arrest, detention, torture, threats of harm and death, abuse, harassment, of the defendant and, also, complicit in the false prosecution which the defendant has been going through since February 2021.
Mr Barker-Vormawor asked the court to award damages and cost including legal fees against Mr Dapaah.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Barker-Vormawor are challenging the court’s ruling on their application to have the substantive applications dismissed.
Their motion for stay of proceedings pending appeal, which was initially fixed for hearing on January 10, has been adjourned to January 24 for consideration.
Mr Barker-Vormawor stated in a Facebook post that Mr Dapaah offered him and others US$1 million in order to stop #FixTheCountry Movement activism.
According to Mr Barker-Vormawor, “they went as far as offering us US$1 million, they offered us a committee appointment, set up a committee and appoint us to
government positions in order to stop this activism. This was made directly to me and other leaders of #FixTheCountry Movement … This conversation we had with the Minister of National Security, the Minister of Finance and a Brigadier General at a safe home.”
Mr Dapaah denied the allegations and caused his counsel to issue a writ of summons against Barker-Vormawor.
The minister is seeking reliefs from the court, including a declaration that the words uttered by the defendant were defamatory of the plaintiff.
Mr Dapaah urged the court to award GH¢10 million as general damages, aggravated and or exemplary damages for defamation for the words uttered by the defendant.
The minister is also demanding an apology for and retraction of the words complained of and a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from repeating similar or other defamatory words against the plaintiff and costs
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
